He is still travelling in a private executive jet, but has a population at home of 90% walking barefoot.

Yet this Excellency may be trying to compete with Reagan and Golbachev to show that he, too, is an Excellency"

This is a verbatim extract of the speech Mr Museveni made on the steps of Uganda Parliament, after being sworn in as president on 26th Jan 1986.

Mr Museveni has just arrived in New York for this year's (2016) United Nations General Assembly meeting in the latest model of Gulf Stream 5 Executive Presidential Jet. This is more than 30 years when he made that speech!

Not only has he left home a barefoot population, but some are dying of hunger! 84% youth are unemployed; 19 women are dying, needlessly, in childbirth daily; young doctors (interns) are on strike because they aren't paid; an epidemic of jiggers looms in parts of the country; 75% children drop out of primary schools due to pathetic state of education standards etc, etc.

In 1986, I, too, stood at the stairs of parliament as Mr M7 swore-in as president and made that speech. Back then, we were found of saying, rightly, that shame is a revolutionary sentiment.

I'll not just be ashamed at having been a part of the "pathetic spectacle" that we continue to witness, I'll not rest until it's overcome. That's the least that I can do.

The exensive

Internet Revolution should get cheaper for the African poor citizens on the African continent:

SUNDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2015

BY INDEPENDENT REPORTER

December 4. 2016 INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA

Cost of unlimited Internet access in Kampala could drop to as low as Shs 1,000 a day

Only a small fraction of Ugandans is connected to the Internet, with the vast majority losing out on the immense opportunities that the Internet is providing to billions of people worldwide.

Currently, the total number of internet users in Uganda is estimated at just over 6.8 million in a population of about 40 million. Compared with the voice penetration of 53%, data penetration is still very low at just 25%, according to data from the Uganda Communications Commission.

The poor accessibility rates are mainly attributed to high cost and poor network coverage. However, this is now bound to change for the better after technology giant Google launched Project Link in Uganda to bring faster and world-class Internet services.

Following the successful completion of a metro fiber network in Kampala city, the company has launched a Wi-Fi ‘hotzone’ network to improve the quality and affordability of wireless access, geared towards meeting the bandwidth demands of Kampala’s growing number of smart phone owners. In partnership with Roke Telecom, more than 100 hotzones, dubbed ‘Rokespots,’ have been launched around Kampala where users can access affordable and high speed mobile internet connections.

In recent years, telecom giants MTN Uganda, Airtel, Smile telecom, Africell and Vodafone have also invested heavily in setting up 4G infrastructure. MTN Uganda in particular has already unveiled its extensive 4G network countrywide, extending the latest broadband technology to major towns – totaling more than 75 4G network sites, in addition to thousands of 2G and 3G.

Google is also venturing into providing wholesale last-mile Wi-Fi access with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) like MTN to leverage on its fibre infrastructure to bring high-quality Wi-Fi to homeowners, small businesses and mobile users on-the-go.

Speaking at the launch on Dec.03, 2015, Roke Telkom officials said the initiative is helping to connect more people to fast and affordable broadband Internet.

The Wi-Fi hotzone network is helping to equip MNOs and ISPs with shared infrastructure that they desperate need to deliver improved services to end users. Ela Beres, who heads the Wi-Fi effort, said with the help of Project Link’s new Wi-Fi hotzone network, ISPs around Kampala would have access to shared infrastructure that can help them enhance their Wi-Fi services and meet the bandwidth needs of the city dwellers. He added that local providers can use the new network to bring Wi-Fi to people on-the-go in the city’s busiest locations such as the taxi parks, hostels, shopping malls, pubs, restaurants and arcades.

Roger Sekaziga, the Roke Telkcom CEO, said Uganda has lately experienced phenomenal growth in demand for Internet, fuelled by the advent of low-cost smart phones.

“Project Link’s Wi-Fi network allows us to deliver cheaper and more reliable Wi-Fi service to a quickly-growing, often underserved market segment,” he added. To owners of the facilities, cheap high speed internet offers more opportunities for customers. The service has different price categories, ranging from Shs 1,000 per day to Shs 18,000 per month.

Officials said going forward, the company plans to install wifi on all public transport vehicles. For Roke Telkom, which has been in operation for over ten years, the partnership with Google to implement Project Link could give it a big headway in the data market place. Google, which started as a search engine over two decades ago, has over the years emerged as a global technology giant. Its push in developing countries has seen it test out innovative ways of ameliorating connectivity challenges. With the introduction of 3G and LTE networks, the company is targeting to provide the ‘last-mile’ link to connect remote locations to the fiber networks that connect countries and whole continents.

Since Uganda was connected to the sea cables seven years ago, prices of international bandwidth have fallen compared to the last decade, but the retail tariffs of broadband have remained relatively out of reach for millions of potential internet users.

But as mobile phone devices evolve thus giving consumers various services beyond voice and text messages, data has over time become a key frontier for telecom companies as consumers take advantage of cheaper means of communication over more convenient social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and to deliver audio, video, and other media content over the Internet.

On a wider scale, the implementers of Project Link see it as causing a revolution in how whole industries and sectors operate and how services are provided to the citizens.- See more at: http://www.

independent.co.ug

Nb

Poor African governments seem to find it as a way of collecting easy money as tax from this technology.

Milking the cow without giving it pasture.

Ongwen, the Freedom fighter or The modern African Liberation bush fighter. His trial now is under the I.C.Court. This European Court of universal human rights has named three judges to preside over this African case.

Mr Ongwen of the Acholi tribe of Northern Uganda.

By Yasiin Mugerwa

Posted Thursday, January 22 2015

Kampala, Uganda-

A day after Dominic Ongwen, a top Christian-Catholic LRA commander, was transferred to The Hague to face charges for a variety of war crimes, the International Criminal Court named three high profile judges to handle his trial.

The ICC presidency yesterday named a Bulgarian judge with a decade-long experience in international criminal law, a Belgian judge with a background in international and comparative criminal law, and an experienced Italian prosecutor to form a three-person coram.

Daily Monitor understands that one of the Judges (Trendafilova) was the Presiding Judge in the previous proceedings in the situations of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the neighbouring Kenya; the Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo and the Prosecutor v. William Ruto et al, respectively.

The government this week announced that international lawyers had approached it showing interest to represent Ongwen, who recently surrendered to the American troops in Central African Republic.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda yesterday said in a statement, Ongwen’s transfer to The Hague brings the court one step closer to ending the LRA’s reign of terror in the African Great Lakes region.

She said the LRA has reportedly killed tens of thousands and displaced millions of people, terrorised civilians, abducted children and forced them to kill and serve as sex slaves. They have hacked off limbs and horribly disfigured men, women and children.

“My investigation demonstrates that Dominic Ongwen served as a high ranking commander within the LRA and that he is amongst those who bear the greatest responsibility for crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC,” Ms Fatou Bensouda stated.

She added: “I urge all others [rebels] that still remain within LRA ranks to abandon violence; stop committing crimes, and follow the bold steps of others before you,”

Governments hailed

On behalf of the Court, the Registrar of the ICC, Mr Herman von Hebel ,yesterday applauded Ongwen’s transfer to The Hague and sought to assure the victims of the 21-year-insurgency in northern Uganda that in order to dispense justice all efforts will made to ensure that they get a lawyer who will tell their story.

He saluted “the persistent efforts” of the government of Uganda, the government of the Central African Republic, the Uganda People’s Defense Force, the African Union Regional Task Force who all put pressure on the rebels until Ongwen’s surrender.

We shall not cater for Ongwen’s children - ICC:

Ongwen’s relatives at their home in Coo-rom village in Lamgoi Sub-county.

PHOTO BY JULIUS OCUNGI

By JULIUS OCUNGI

Posted Saturday, February 7 2015

AT GULU, UGANDA.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Field Outreach Coordinator for Kenya and Uganda, Ms Maria Mabinty Kamara, has rejected calls by relatives of indicted LRA commander Dominic Ongwen to cater for his children.

Ms Kamara was responding to a question during a press briefing in Gulu Town on Wednesday on whether the ICC would help Ongwen’s family. She said ICC can only, at an appropriate time under the rules of the court, facilitate the family to visit Ongwen at The Hague.

Ongwen is among the top five LRA commanders who were indicted by the ICC in 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Others are LRA leader Joseph Kony and his deputies: Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, and Raska Lukwiya.

Ongwen, who surrendered early last month in Central African Republic (CAR), appeared in the dock at the ICC on January 26, where seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes were read against him.

His relatives had earlier asked the Uganda government and ICC to cater for his children.

One of his brothers, Mr Christopher Kilama, said the family was overwhelmed with the burden of taking care of Ongwen’s four children because they have their own.

However, Ms Kamara said the ICC has a trust fund which has been providing interim assistance to victims of the LRA war but not their relatives. She said the ICC has established at least 18 projects in the region under the Victims Trust Fund.

“Over 40 million people in the region benefited from the trust fund. Some of them were provided with microfinance, prosthetic, and plastic surgery, especially for mutilated victims,” said Ms Kamara.

She said Mr Ongwen’s relatives can only be assisted to visit him at The Hague at an appropriate time.

who is ongwen?

• Said to have been abducted by LRA, aged 10, as he walked to school in northern Uganda

• Rose to become a top commander

• Accused of crimes against humanity, including enslavement

• ICC issued arrest warrant in 2005

• Rumoured to have been killed in the same year

• US offered $5m (£3.3m) reward for information leading to his arrest in 2013.

The Western region of Uganda has taken lots of tax payers' money to develop its roadway infrastructure:

A finished section of Ntungamo-Rukungiri road.

PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA

By ISAAC MUFUMBA

KAMPALA.

The Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) has in the last five years spent more than Shs3.8 trillion on the rehabilitation of 18 major tarmac roads and upgrading 12 others from murram to tarmac, with the lion’s share of money and kilometres worked on going to western Uganda.Figures obtained from Unra in regard to 27 roads totalling 2,274.5km revealed that Western Uganda took within the region of Shs1.8 trillion, which represents 49 per cent of the roads money and 687.4km of road network which represents 30.22 per cent of the length of roads that were worked on.Northern Uganda took Shs480.96 billion, which is 13 per cent of the funds and 386km, which represents 16.97 per cent of the total number of kilometres that were worked on in the said period.Eastern Uganda got Shs598.67 billion, which is 16 per cent of total spent and 362km which represents 15.91 per cent of the total number of kilometres fixed.The smallest potion of the money went to central Uganda, which got Shs466.3 billion, representing 13 per cent of the funds and 295km which represents 12.96 per cent of the length of roads worked on.Roads shared across regions amounted to 544kms which represents 23.91 per cent of the total number of kilometres worked on.The shared roads, include the 154km Masaka-Mbarara road, which is shared between central and western regions, the 123km Soroti-Dokolo-Lira road, which is shared by the east and the north, the 208km Kawempe-Kafu-Kiryandongo road, which is shared by central and northern regions and the 59km Kiryandongo-Karuma-Kamdin road, which is shared by the north and the west.

Rehabilitated roadsThe 18 roads that were rehabilitated are mainly old roads which had been constructed by either the colonial or Obote I and II governments. These accounted for 1,176km of what Unra worked on.The biggest share went to eastern Uganda, which besides the part it shares with northern Uganda along the Soroti-Dokolo-Lira road, took a total of 362km, representing a share of 30.78 per cent.The second biggest share went to central Uganda which besides the Masaka-Mbarara and the Kawempe-Kafu- Kiryandongo roads, which it shares with western region, took 210km, representing 17.9 per centIn third was western Uganda, which besides the Masaka-Mbarara road and the Kawempe-Kafu-Kiryandongo roads, which it shares with central region got a share of 124km representing 10.5 per-z cent.Northern Uganda came out with the least number of rehabilitated kilometers, taking only 62, which represents 5.3 per cent.Roads shared between the regions took a total of 421km, representing 32.8 percent of the roads.In this story, we concentrate only on the roads that were worked on and completed over the past five years. There are a number of ongoing road projects across the country, which will be dealt with in a subsequent story.

New roadsEight out of the 12 roads that were upgraded giving Uganda another 971.5 kilometres of tarmac are located in western Uganda, while three are located in the north. One is located in central Uganda, while one is partially located in the north and the east.The new roads in western Uganda amount to 646.4 kilometres. These are the 83 kilometre Mbarara-Ishaka-Bwizibwera Road, the 104km Fort Portal-Bundibugyo-Lamia road, the 101km Kabale-Kisoro- Bunagana road, the 68 km Nyakahita-Kazo Road, and the 75km Kazo-Kamwengye Road.Others are the 92km Hoima-Kaiso-Tonya road, the 88km Mbarara-Kikagati-Murongo road and the 36.5km Ishaka-Kagamba road.The three new roads in Northern Uganda are the 92km Vurra-Arua-Oraba road, the 74km Gulu-Atiak road and the 35km Atiak-Nimule road.The new road in central region is the 42km Matuga-Semuto-Kapeka road, while the one that lies in both the east and the north is the 123km Soroti-Dokolo-Lira road.However, while most of the new roads are located in western Uganda, which is comprised of the Rwenzori, Bunyoro, Kigezi and Ankole regions, a closer look at the list of new roads reveals that the majority are in Ankole sub-region, where they form a network that connects all the districts to tarmac.The roads in the network include the Lyantonde-Ibanda road which is also known as Kaguta Road, the Mbarara-Ibanda-Kamwengye road, the Mbarara-Isingiro-Kikagati road, Kabale-Kisoro- Bunagana road the Ishaka-Kagamba Road and the Ntungamo-Mirama Hills road. The Ntungamo-Mirama hills road is yet to be completed.Besides the kilometres it shares with Tooro along the Kazo-Kamwengye road, Ankole sub-region took 191.4km which represents 35 per cent of the 545.4km of new roads, which went to western Uganda.Tooro and Bundibugyo shared 104km, which represents 19 percent, while Bunyoro got only 92km, which represents 17 per cent of the share of new roads that went to western Uganda.The only new road in Kigezi region is the 101 kilometre Kabale Kisoro Bunagana Road, which was completed in 2012.

ReactionsBusongora North MP, Nzonghu William (FDC), who is also the Shadow minister for Works and Transport, said it was “an act of selfishness” on the part of President Museveni and the ruling NRM not to distribute road infrastructure evenly.“Even the road to (President) Museveni’s place, which is of no economic significance, was tarmacked. What is in greater Ankole? Only cows! It has no substantive resources that contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but it has a network of well tarmacked roads,” Mr Nzonghu said.Hoima Municipality MP, Dr Lawrence Bategeka, (NRM), who is also the vice chairperson of the parliamentary Committee on the National Economy, acknowledged that there is issue with “distribution of infrastructure across regions” and questioned the criteria employed by UNRA in deciding which projects to work on and when.“Some people use justifications, which some of us don’t agree with. They say a road must be busy. That it must have economic returns, but how do you expect a road to be busy or have economic returns when it is impassable?” he wondered.Since tourism has been one of the major contributors to the economy over the last five years, failure to work on roads in Kigezi region, a gateway to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Elgon region, gateway to Mount Elgon National Park and those leading to the Murchison Falls National Park, or the road from Moroto to Kotido and Kaabong (gateway to Kidepo National Park), cast doubts over arguments that expected economic returns are a major determinant.The tourism sector’s contribution to GDP has been on the rise over the last five years. In 2013 the sector’s contribution to the economy was Shs5.6 trillion, rising to Shs6.4 trillion in 2014. During the same period, the sector provided slightly over one million jobs starting with 551,100 jobs in 2013 and rising to 592,500 jobs in 2014.During the same period, the sector saw 1,206,334 visitors come to Uganda in 2013, a figure which rose to 1,266,046 in 2014.Dr Bategeka attributed the inequitable distribution to possible influence peddling on the part of some people in government.“You can’t rule out (the role) of power centres in government. Those from certain regions are often at the centre of negotiations with donors. That might explain why some projects get the nod ahead of others,” he said, a charge denied by UNRA.In an email communication with Sunday Monitor, Mr Allan Ssempebwa Kyobe, the media relations manager in the office of the Unra executive director, said Unra simply implements government decisions.Decisions on which projects to be carried out and when are reached at a roundtable conference convened by the Ministry of Works once every five years for purposes of drawing up a five-year development plan.“The decisions are made by government, which represents the people in many aspects, to ensure that the programmes are responsive to the national economic development plans. The Minister of Works and Transport oversees this social political aspiration on behalf of government,” he wrote.Information available to Sunday Monitor indicates that the last round table conference was held in 2012 and attended by officials from both the Ministry of Works and Transport and those from Unra.However, efforts to establish who exactly attended that meeting and assumed the ambiguous face of “government” to make the decisions that Unra is implementing proved futile.

Phone calls to the known mobile telephone number of the Ministry of Works and Transport spokesperson, Ms Susan Kataike, went unanswered, while text messages were not responded to.Sunday Monitor has, however, established that though the next roundtable meeting had been scheduled to take place during the course of this year, it will not be taking place.

Officials in the ministry are said to have taken into consideration an announcement by Unra’s Executive Director, Ms Allen Kagina, at the end of June 2016 that the agency would not be taking on new roads projects due to both budgetary constraints and the need to first complete all the projects that she either found under implementation or those that she found at design stage when she assumed office.

The decision to put off the round table conference was also said to have been informed in parts by the March 2016 Kyankwanzi retreat’s decision to align government policies to the NRM party’s 2016 – 2021 manifesto and the resultant directive to civil servants, political leaders and NRM party leaders to work in tandem, a decision which the NRM’s Deputy Secretary General, Mr Richard Todwong, defended in a recent interview.“We didn’t want any Ministry diverting or deviating from what we had promised. You don’t go through a national election then you surrender your government to civil servants. This time the party wants to be closer to government and be more responsible for what government does,” he said.

As Uganda has received a new hard working Minister of Works , there is hope that shipping across the oceans and lakes for Uganda will greatly improve to international standards:

FOR EXAMPLE THE SHIPPING CONTAINERS AS USED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM THESE DAYS:

1st Containers are the premier supplier of shipping containers within the UK, able to supply on demand across the UK for any purpose a variety of different sized shipping containers. As the number one choice of container supplier to the Ministry of Defence, 1st Containers always have a healthy supply of shipping containers available for purchase or hire from our depots. 1st Containers offer the widest range of sizes in shipping container to our clients, with prompt delivery and a friendly professional service.

Our shipping containers range from 6ft to 45ft and are always readily available at short notice. All shipping containers supplied by 1st Containers are constructed from weatherproofed steel, and are also vandal and rodent proofed giving maximum protection to any goods transported or stored within.

With such an array of different sized shipping containers always available with immediate effect, we have listed some of the more common uses for the appropriate sized units. Our team of in-house experienced technical engineers also do container conversions on a daily basis, and amongst the list below you will see some of the usage purposes that this area has to offer.

6FT CONTAINERA 1st Containers 6ft shipping container has an internal storage space of 235 cubic feet and is the ideal purchase for the transportation of smaller cargo consignments. Our 6ft containers are also the perfect solution for the more personal use of storage, and are a great alternative to the traditional garden storage solutions. All of our containers can be specifically painted to the clients request to incorporate the colours of a company logo or just to blend with their surroundings. There is no better storage solution to protect your belongs from the natural elements than a shipping container and the 6ft size makes an ideal weatherproofed store for garden tools and machinery. This size of shipping container is also ideal for conversion into a kiosk sized unit. Completely safe and secure when locked up, a simple conversion with a shutter opening could easily be used as a ticket outlet or mobile phone accessory outlet.

8FT CONTAINERSlightly larger in size and appearance than the 6ft unit, the 1st Containers 8ft shipping container actually has over 100 cubic feet more of storage space (347 Cubic feet). Ideal again for similar purposes as outlined above, with just that extra bit of space if required. These are also a very useful size for conversions, as they make for great individually converted toilets and changing facilities. Their size also makes them useful as an extra storage space at your place of business, especially file storage. So many companies pay excessive amounts of their budget to have important files stored at specialist offsite locations. With minimal space required for an 8ft shipping container, and with the knowledge that all contents are safe inside, your company can have those important files to hand whenever they are required.

There are millions and millions of shipping containers.

10FT CONTAINERSMoving up in size to the 10ft shipping container, our supply tends to be more for business than personal use. The 1st Containers 10ft shipping container has an internal storage space of 560 cubic feet and is ideal for the transportation of any medium sized cargo. Items are easily packed and stacked to get maximum usage from the space available, and again these are ideal for the smaller conversion purposes. This size of container is very popular within the construction industry, with many clients approaching us for conversion into site offices and site entrance guardhouse. Perfect for the one man construction site foreman’s office, these are also regularly used for the storage of dry foods and grain. Inner-city construction sites often benefit from using the 10ft shipping container as access to many sites with larger units can be problematic. It is a much more feasible option to have multiple smaller containers dotted around a site than one large one, especially when certain materials need to be kept apart whilst in storage. On major builds we have supplied the 10ft shipping containers in multiple amounts to be used for storing the electrician’s materials, the plumbers and the decorators painting materials.

20FT CONTAINERA 1st Containers 20ft shipping container has an internal storage space of 1160 cubic feet. This size of container is the most secure and safe way to transport your larger goods, such as small machinery and anything up to a medium sized motor vehicle. They are one of the standard sizes used throughout the shipping industry and as well as a mode of transportation, when you consider the security and the weather resistance of a shipping container they are also fast becoming the number one choice for storage of similar goods as above. The 20ft shipping container from 1st Containers is a good sized used for additional working space for your business. Whether ordered as a temporary measure or as a permanent fixture, if your company has expansion in mind, these can become your additional office, fully converted by 1st Containers and also without the hassle of planning permission that an annexe style addition may require. From a conversion perspective, the uses are limitless. As a self-employed individual, you may need a workshop of this size, with the knowledge of having everything locked inside safe whilst you are off-site on business. They are the perfect size converted into a sales office for new development properties, as a medium sized toilet block, canteens and washrooms. The 1st Containers 20ft units are very adaptable and highly secure.

40FT / 45FT CONTAINERSFinally the largest of the shipping containers supplied by 1st Containers. For storage purposes the space inside is 2360 cubic feet and 2640 cubic feet respectively. Ideal for transporting machinery and motor vehicles, if 40ft isn’t quite big enough in length, our 45ft container gives that extra little room. When you have large consignments for transportation within the UK or for shipping abroad, there is no safer means for the storage on the journey than one of our shipping containers. Along with the storage of machinery, they are also ideal for the storage of dried foods such as grain, and anything else without a temperature requirement. Being the largest of our shipping containers we find that the clients hiring or buying this size usually have them converted for long-term usage purposes. Such as on-site toilet blocks, additional large offices, business workshops and sales offices. We have had major construction companies hire the 40ft and 45ft shipping containers, and have had them converted into sleeping accommodation for workers needing to be on their site late into the night and ready to continue in the early hours of the following day. 1st Containers have also seen an increase in the hire of this size of container for events and other temporary activities. These units can be modified virtually in anyway a client requires and one such way was for a walk-in gallery with the doors opening on the length side rather than at the ends giving a fully open three walled gallery. The modified doors folded back and to the side so as not to use anymore space than the original size of the container would.

All of the 1st Containers standard shipping containers can also be securely stacked, so even if you are thinking of hiring these units, you may not need the ground space for two or more as you can have them as multi-storey.

It is not right not to be able to build proper ports and not be able to build marine shipping for the country's industries and commerce when there is plenty of water bodies all over this country.